Knitting-machine



(No Model.) `6 Sheets-Sli'eet 1. I. W. LAMB.

KNITTING MACHINE.

DWENTGR:

ATTORNEYS.

wml

VPatented Jan. 11, 1887.

(No Model.) 6 sheets-'sheen 2.'

LW. LAMB.

KNITTING MACHINE. No. 355,938. vPatented Jan. 1 1', 1,887.

' WITNBSSES: MIVBNTOR:

' QM M ATTORNEYS.

NA PETERS, Phmlixhngmphr. wnshingwn, D. C.

(No Model.) 6 sheets-snm s.

I; W. LAMB.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Jan. l11887.

DTVENTOR l BY m Q ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.)

1. W. LAMB.

KNITTING MACHINE,

Patented Jan. 11,1887.

im.. g

ATTORNEYS.-

(No Model.) 6 Seets-Sheet 5.

I. W. LAMB. y KNITTING MAGHINB. No. 355,938. Patented Jan. 11, 1887.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

NA Fama Pnnwumogmphcr, wmmgwn. n. c.

"(No Model.) `6 sheets-sheet s.

LW. LAMB.

KNITTING MACHINE.

N0.'355,938. l Patented Jan. 11, 1887.

WITNEssEs: INVENTOR: MQW JWQM.

5C 1%@ l BY Wm ATTORNEYS.

N Pneus, Phnxo-Lnhugnpher. washingxon. 0.o

NNE

raras arnnr aries.

ISAAC VIXOM LAMB, OF JACKSON, MCHIGAN.

KNlTTiNG-NIACHINE.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,938, dated January11, 1887 Application led May27p1885. Serial No. 166,571. (No model.) t

T0 all whom, it may concern.:

Beit known thatI, Istrie WIXOM Lniuaactizen of the United States,residing at Jackson,

in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Knittinwlllachines, of whicheasilyadjusted for different kinds of work,l

and at the same time to render its construction more methodical,cheaper, and more durable.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts comprised in a knitting-machine, hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a knittingmachine according to myinvention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section ofthe same at x x,Fig. 1, looking toward the right-hand end of the latter gure. Fig. 3 isa view of a por tion of the front of the machine with the camframeremoved. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the bed-plateframe. Fig..

5 is an invertedplan view of the bed plate frame, the bed-plate, and itsendwise shifting mechanism, Ytogether with a number of the needles andbed-sections, including springs between and upon which the needlesslide, and the spring and needleretaining rods, a portion of saidbed-plate audits shifting mechanism being broken away. Fig. 6 is alopgitudinal section at y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 7 shows the parts of abed-section in detail and the needle. Fig. 8 is an out end view ofseveral sections having the parts thereof assembled together -as inservice, the said figure including a number of needle-supportingsprings,

one of the latter being also shown detached and 1n side view, andportions of the same spring and needle-retaining rods. Fig. 9 is asimilar -view showing a modification of the needle-supporting springs.Fig. 10 is an out Among patf end view, partly in section, of aportion ofthe machine corresponding with that shown in Fig. 3. Fig. l1 is alongitudinal section through'the cam-carriage. Fig. 12 is an end View ofthe frame or body ot' the machine, showing the sliding frame in section.Fig. 13 shows sectional Views of adjunctive parts ofthe oscillatingappliance of the yarnguide. Fig. 14 is a detailed plan view of theyarn-guide and arm, showing the slot within which the connection betweenthe arm and its frictionrod Works, parts being broken away.

A represents the frame of the machine, comprising the two end portions,A, and a connecting part, A, all usually cast in one piece. The frame isprovided with vclamping-screws a, by means of which the machine may besecured at its back edge to a bench or table for support while in use. Ihave shown a pair of metallic brackets, c, which may be permanentlysecured to the berich to serve as bases on which to secure the machineto guard the wooden bench against wear in frequently placing andremoving machines.

rlhe upper edges of the end portions, A', are slanted to the front andrear at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and are provided 'withgrooves a along their inner corners,

(see Fig. 10,) forming ledges a, on which the bed-frame is fitted toslide both longitudinally and transversely, said ledges being of greaterlength between their inner and outer ends than the end blocks of thesaid frame, while said frame is less in length from side to side thanthe space between the opposite vertical side walls of the 'said grooves.Each bed-frame comprises the bed-plate B, theend blocks, B', and aretaining bar, C. The bed-plate is dovetail grooved longitudinally inits upper face to receive the bedsections C and the end blocks, B',which are provided with corresponding dovetails to fit snugly into thegroove. The end blocks are further secured' to the bed! 4plate by meansof screws, (see Fig, 4,) so as IOO inner ends to come against projectingshoulders b ofthe gibs to form stops to the inward transverse motion ofthe bed-plates.

D is a needle of the usual hook and hinged tongue forni at its forwardend, bent ata right angle near the rear end of its body, and providedwith a shank, D', which is slotted at its forward end to receive therear end of the body of the needle bent asdescribed. In practice, theneedle and shank thus joined are soldered together, and become one piececalled the needle77 d is a projection of the shank, by which the camsact upon the needle to reciprocate it,this projection being called theheeL d is a hook-shoulder, by which the needle is prevented from beingpulled forward at certain times, as hereinafter explained.

d/is a knob, by which the needle may be drawn backward by hand.

The bed-sections C comprise the central piece, C, the two side pieces,C, and the bed piece D, forming a group, and the spacingstud D. rlhecentral piece, C', has a parallelsided opening at its forward end toreceive the jack C5, which is secured therein by fitting so closely asto require endwise driving to force it in, and by the sidepieces, C,which are duplicates-of each other, and are riveted firmly to thecentral piece. have the jack formed as a part thereof; but as the jackis worn more rapidly than the rest of the central part I prefer makingit removablethat it may be changed at will. The central piece, G, has adovetail, c, iitting closely into the dovetail groovein the bed-plate B,whereby the body of each section is held. The bedpieees D are alsoprovided each with a dovetail, d, to lit the dovetail groove in thebedplate, and the bed-sections and bed-pieces. alternating lill thebed-plate between the end blocks, B. The body ofthe spacing-stud Dpasses through and is riveted to the group of parts C C G of thebed-section,and its head projects an amount equal to the thickness ofthe bed-piece D. v A

Between adjacent bed-sections, above the bed-pieces and below and infront of the studs, is the needle-groove, formed by assembling thesurrounding parts, as described. The needles are retained in thesegrooves by the forward bar, C, which is secured upon the end blocks, B',of the bed-plate, and by the rear bar, 0, which is secured upon the endportions, A, of the frame. The line of the needle-body andtheline'o'fthe shank are parallel, the foriner sliding on the forward part of thebed-piece, while the latter slides on the lower rear portion thereof inservice.

To enable the needles to be held out of operation when desired, Iprovide the hooking shoulders d' upon the needle and c upon thebed-piece to engage each other as follows: The

needle,after being drawn as usual by hand into its outward or rearwardposition, is pressed down to withdraw its heel from the path of theoperating-cams. The weight of the work will The central piece may,

then draw the needle forward, so as to engage the'said hookd with theshoulder c. The hooking form of part d', prevents the weight of the workfrom either drawing the needle forward or from prying thehook up out ofengagement with the shoulder.

At each movement of the needle in operation the hook d passes back ofthe shoulder c, and would be very likely to drop down into engagementtherewith. To prevent this I have provided springs E, with shoulders e,bctween and upon which the needles may slide, so as to be supported whennot supported by the bed-piece. The inner faces of the spring below theshoulders e touch, while the points of the spring above the shouldersare so far apart as to permit the needle to play freely between them.The shoulders of the spring are not so abrupt but that ,the needle shankmay' be pressed down between them by applying a little force when it isdesired to disengage a needle from the cams. The springs E are held inplace between the central pieces, G, by a small -rod or wire, E, whichpasses through the springs and through the central pieces. The upperends ofthe springs occupy the spaces e in the side pieces, C, and arekept thereby from turning on the wire. Spaces c are formed in thecentral pieces, C', to permit the ends of the spring to recede from theneedle when the latter is pressed down between the shoulders e. Asamodification, the loop-shaped springs E may also be made with theirshoulders turned outward. as at E", Fig. 9, in which case the two legsofa spring will straddle the central piece, O, and the' shoulders of twoadjacent springs will corne together to support the needle, each spring,except the two end ones of the machine, acting in conjunction with thetwo adjacent springs.

,c, Figs. 4L and 8, is a rod or wire passing through the centralYpieces, C', beneath the needleshanks to retain the needles in themachineby preventing the heels of the needlesbeing drawn back undeuthespacing-studs D. By withdrawing this rod endwise the needles will befree to be pressed down enough to be removed rearward from the machine.

F is a rock-shaft provided with a ilange,f, at each end, and mounted onadjusting screwcenters F. These screw-centers pass through the endportions, A', and are provided with check-nuts f', by which they may berigidly xed at any point of adjustment.

Fl represents two teeth Xed to the rear bed-plate, B, each to engage anotch in one of the .tlangesy F represents two connecting-rods attachedat one end to the front bed-plate, B, and at the other end tocrankfpinsf in the flanges.

Fm is aliand-lever attached to one end of the rock-shaft F, by means ofwhich the shaft may be rocked, when by the tooth-connection Fl and therod-connection F the two bedplates will be separated or drawn together.They are thus separated, carrying the needles with them, to allow theoperator room to do IOO any desired work between the two plates, such astaking up loops, &c.

For the purpose" of adjusting the teeth F relatively to each other whensetting up the machine, the teeth are provided with curved bases g", tobe attached by two screws, f4f5, tothe bed-plate. One of these screws,f", passes through an elongated hole, f6, in the base, at one end of thecurve, and the other screw, f5, is fixed in a round hole, fl, at the,other end, and by crooking the metal of the curved portion f8 more orless the tooth may be set relatively to the fixed screw, and then behound by the other screw.

G is a stopscrew having a conical head to engage an aperture, g, in thelever F, which has an elastic body, so that it may be crowded to oneside by the conical shape of the screwhead G, and spring back when theaperture g arrives at the screw-head, to hold the rockshaft fixed whenthe bed-plates are forward, and'to fix the position of these plates withany desired amount of opening between them I it the stop G with ascrew-thread to enter the portion Al of the frame, and I provide acheck-nut, g, to hold the screw set. To limit the'action of the lever Fmin separating the plates, I provide a shoulder, f", on one of theconnecting-rods F, which stops the lever at a iiXed point.

For producing certain kinds of fabric-such as shagged work-I arrange thefront needleplate to be shifted endwise a distance equal' to the spacebetween adjacent needles. As the normal relation of the front and backsets of needles to each other is one set opposite the spaces between theother set, vthis shifting brings the two sets in a new relation to eachother. To this end the front bed-p1ate, B, is

made shorter than the space in the frame A between the outer verticalsides of the ledges c, and the ribs b may slide on the said ledgeslongitudinally of the machine an amount equal to the space betweenadjacent needles. This endwise movement of the whole needle-bed isaccomplished, as described farther on, by means of a hand-lever, H,which is pivoted at h to a bar, H, which is iitted closely betweenA theend portions, Al', of the frame, and slotted to receive a screw, h',which holds it movably on the bed-plate The lever H has an enlarged holeto receive and play longitudinally upon the stud h, which is tXed in thebedplate.

Hf is a spring acting between the lever H and its retaining-pin h" topress the lever up against a pin, H, fixed in the plate. The lever hastwo holes, as seen in dotted lines in Figs. et and 5 and in full linesin Fig. 10, at equal distances from the stud It, in which to receive thepin-one when the needle-plate is at the right and the other when at theleft. By pressing the handle o f the lever down, overcoming in a measurethe action of the spring H, it is disengaged from the pin and may bemoved either way, carrying the needleplate with it.

I is the sliding frame for carrying the needle-operating cams. It isprovided with two inwardly-projecting longitudinal ribs, z', the lowersides of which are fitted to bear on the gibs b', to enable the frame Itov slide longitudinally.

I represents two gibs, each iitted neatly to y screws,`f, which resistsaid binding. By this means the gib may be rigidly sustained just incontact with the frame wit-hout pressing on it, or they may be rigidlyset a little free of the frame'and yet hold the frame to its path. Thescrews t" are provided with shoulders i i, that press up against theunder sides of the gibs, and with smaller heads, "z", which come throughthe gibs just flush with the tops thereof, so that these screws may allbe adjusted from above the gibs.

J is the yarn-guide arm, pivoted at j to the yarn-carrier frame tooscillate thereon.

J. is the take-up spring, which is passed through a slot, is, in ahub-like portion, i5, of the arm J, said spring being c onnected to orcoiled around a headed bolt-pin, it, inserted into and through saidhub-likc portion of the arm J, so as to oscillate therewith and toremain in the same relation thereto at all times,

and to hold the yarn directly over the yarn- IOO delivery and with thesame tension, whether.

the oscillating guidearm be in itsright orleft position at the pointsdesignated by the iig 'ures l and 2, respectively, Fig. 14.

The pin-bolt it, with one end of thetake-up spring J connected theretoor coiled around it, as above intimated, is passed into and through thehubiike portion ot the arm J, and secured therein by a shoulder on theinner side of its head, and a nut, i, screwed upon its unheaded end,which is screw-threaded and projects beyond the hub-like portion i5 toreceive said nut.

J is the frictionblock which oscillates the arm J. This block is securedby means of a screw, j', to one ofthe gibs I loosely, so that it mayaccommodate itself to the movementot` the friction-rod j, to oscillatethe yarn-guide at the right time, and be sure at all times to IIOholdthe yard-guide in the position required.

passes at one end freely through a projection, i, of the sliding frame Ias a support, and isprovided at the other end. with a stud and a screw,J which stud passes up through a slightly-curved slot, j, in theyarn-carrier frame, the ball-head of the screw engaging a suitablesocket in the yarn-guide arm J.

Vhen the frame I starts from either end of its stroke to move aeross,thefrictionblock J will adhere to the friction-rod j enough to hold backthe yarn-guide arm Juntil the stud is caughtin one of the ends ot' theslotj, when the rod will advance with the frame, the frietion-block allthe time resistingits movement, so as to hold the yarn-guide at the rearend of its sweep. Vhen the frame arrives at the end of its stroke andstarts to return, the' frictionvice versa.

block will act in asimilar manner to move the lyarn-guide to the otherend of its stroke and hold it there throughout the stroke of the frame.This means of holding the frictionblock assures the shifting of theyarn-guide at the right time, thus obviating one of the most seriousdifficulties with which the operator of the Lamb knitting-machine hashad to contend, and by securing these parts to the reciprocating frame,the removal of the frame becomes a simple matter, only requiring theunscrewing ofthe two screws I.

The cams in this machine operate as usual, the set in the front beinglike the set in the back ot" the sliding frame, and each set consist-.ing of three cams-one central or V cam and two wing-cams. The V-cam Kon the front side of the machine is raised when it arrives at one end ofthe machine and lowered at the other end, and the like cam on the rearside of the machine is raised at that end of the machine where the frontcam is lowered when' producing tubular work. The wing-cams K I makeadjustable, for the purpose of regulating the length of the loop, asfollows: The wingeams K are secured to the under plate, K, of the frameI by means of screws, which slide in slots 7c parallel to the adjacentside of the cam K.

K are dials, each graduated on an arc of its face to register with afixed pointer, k'. Each dial is provided with ahandle, by which it Ymaybe turned, and is connected with a flanged disk, k, s o as to turn thesame in the recess formed in the frame I.

76 is a crank-pin on the disk 7c, connected with a wing-cam, K', bymeans of a rod, I and one of the two screws cm, the screws passingthrough the slots 7s. By turning the dial the cani K will be moved alongthe slots k, and the distance moved will be indicated by the pointer 7cand the dial. Vhen the cam is extended downward it will depress theneedles farther and form longer loops or stitches, and Each ofthe fourwingcams is similarly provided with a dial.

L represents the shifter for the cam K.

L is a wire spring, which I have adapted to hold the shifter at each endof its movement. The spring is held directly to the under plate, K", bya stud, Z, and it is provided with an angular bend, l, adapted to engagea stud or rivet,v Z", on the plate L, so that when the Lambknitting-mchine, I have not thought itV necessary to describe them.

Hcretofore it has been common to causethe .cam-shifters L to operate bymeans of four separate stops at the ends of the machine, adapted to beset into or out of the path of t-he shifters. I have devised two stops,S2, which accomplish the same purpose. Each of these stops is secured tothe-machineby means of two screws, S, one fixed in the end of themachine through a straight inclined slot, St, in the stop S2, and theother through an angular slot, S5. It the stop be set as shown in Fig.l2,neither shifter will be engaged thereby. If set as shown in dottedlines Si, both shifters will be engaged. The stop is provided with threeholes, N, to be engaged one at atime b v a springactuating pin, N,whereby the stop is held in any of the positions described. These twoshifters are-more easily managed than four attached to the end of themachine, and they accomplish all that is desired.

Vthat- I claim as my invention, and desireto secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination, with the frame A, having the ledges a, and thebed-plate B, having the end blocks, B', formed with ribs b, of the. gibsb', fitted to the frame A to project over the ribs b, the latter beinggained on their upper faces to receive'the gibs, as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the frame A, having the ledges ed, and thebed-plate B, having the end blocks, B, formed with ribs b and gainedalong their outer edges and across their upper'ends, of the gibs b',fitted to the frame A to project over the ribs b, and provided withprojecting shoulders b, substantially as shown and described.

. 3. The combination, with the grooved needle-bed having shoulders carranged within the grooves of said bed, ofthe needles having hooks dupon their under sides,.which hooks engage said shoulders within thegrooves, whereby the needles are prevented from having endwise forwardmovement when de- IZO pressed wh olly within the grooves ofthe needle-5. The combination, with an unyielding bed havinga hooked shouldeigofthe needle having a hook, d, on its under side,l and the spring E,having a shoulder, e, and disposed in rear or outside of the shouldersof the bed, saidneedle being adapted to move or slide past said shoulderof the bed, substantially as and for the purpose speciiied.

6. The combination, with a series of groups of pieces, C", C', and C,spacing-studs D,`se cured between the said groups and needles, iitted toslide in the spaces between the said groups and provided with hookingshoulders d, ofthe bed-pieces D, provided with hooling shoulders c,adapted to engage the needlehook shoulders, substantially as shown anddescribed.

7. The combinatiomwith the frame A, provided with the end portions, A',having the ledges d, and the gibs b', secured on the end portions, A, ofthe bedplate B, the end blocks, B, secured thereto and provided withribs Z1, out away on top to fit upon the ledges a under the gibs b,thereciprocating cam-frame, and the retaining-bar 0, secured upon theend blocks B level with the gibs b', as shown and described, whereby anesven surface is furnished for the reciprocating cam-frame to slideupon, as shown and described.

8. The combination, with a needle having a hook on its under side and abed therefor having a shoulder past which the hook of the needle mayslide, of a spring, E, having shoulders e, located to the rear of theshoulder in the bed to support the needle, as shown and described.

9. The combination, with the spring E, of the two side pieces, C, havingthe spaces e, the central piece, C, having the space e, and the rods E',passing through the springs and through the central pieces,substantially as shown and described.

10. The combination, with the frame A, the shaft F, pivoted to rocktherein and provided with the flanges f, of the plate B, tted to slidein the frameA,the crank-pinsf in the iianges, and the connecting-rods F,attached at one end to the plate B and at the other end to thecrank-pinsf, as shown and described.

11. rlhe combination, with frame A and the shaft F, pivoted to rocktherein, and plates B B, connected with the said shaft, as described, ofthe elastic lever Fm', fixed to the shaft and having the aperture g, andthe conical-headed screw-stop G, adj ustably iixed in the frame A, asshown and describe( 12. The combination, with the` frame A, the rearbed-plate B, the rock-shaftV ,having the notched iiangesf at its ends,and the handlevcr attached to one end of the rock-shaft, of the teeth F,connected to said rear bed-plate and each having a curved base, g, anelongated hole, f6, at one end of the curve of said base, and a hole,f7, at the other end of said curve, and the screws f* f5, passingthrough said holes, respectively, and entering said base-plate,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination, with the'frame A, the bed-plate B,iitted to slidetransversely therein, the rock-shaft F, pivoted in the frame, thecrank-pinsf, and the lever FW, attached to the rock-shaft, of the rodsF, one of which rods is provided with a shoulder,f,fto engage'the lever,as shown and described.

14. The combination, with the frame A, bed-plate B, having the fixedstud h, and the bar H loosely secured to the bed-plate, of the lever H7pivoted to the bar H and fitted loosely upon the stud It", and havingtwo holes at equal distances from the stud, the pin kwin the stud, thespring H between the pin h and the lever H, and the pin H, fixed in thebed-plate to register with the holes in the lever, as shown anddescribed.

15. The combiiiation, with the frame A and the frame I, ttechto slidethcreon,as described, and provided with the ribs ,'of the gibs I', thebinding-screws I, and the pushing-screws i', the pushing-screws z"lhaving heads passing through openings in the gibs and shoulders actingupon the under sides of the gibs,and the binding-screws I also havingheads passing through openings in the gibs and being arrangedintermediately of the pushingscrews and acting upon the upper sides ofthe said gibs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

16. The combination, with the frame A, the frame I, fitted thereto andsliding thereon, as described, and the arm J, pivoted to frame I, of thefriction-rod j, pivoted at one end to the arm J and loosely supported atthe other end `in the frame I, and the frictionblock J, engaging the rodj and loosely attached to the frame A, substantially as shown anddescribed. i

17. The combination, with the yarn-guide arm J, pivoted to oscillate,and the frictionblock J, engaging the rodj and loosely xed to themachine, of the rod j, provided with the stud and a screw, J, the armJ'having a socket to receive the screw, as shown and described. y

18. The combination of the mainframe A, the frame I, fitted to slidelongitudinally thereon, the cam-shifter L, fitted to the frame I, theshifter-stops S2, each provided with a straight slot, S, and an angularslot, S5, and the screws Spassing throughthe said slots into the frameA, substantially as shown and described.

19. The combination of the frame A, the 'stops S2, each provided with astraight slot, St, and an angular slot, S5, and three holes, N', thescrews S passing through the said slots into the frame A, and the pin N,fitted in the frame A, to engage the pin-holes N, and a spring therefor,substantially as shown and described.

ISAAC WIXOM LAMB.

Witnesses:

ALF. C; CowHERD, STELLA A. HUNT.

IOO

IIO

IIS

